


Special Little Boy

by CastielFollowMe



Series: Single Dad Shiro Verse [67]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 08:45:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9648533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CastielFollowMe/pseuds/CastielFollowMe
Summary: Keith finds himself lost when he takes the bus too far and before he can panic, he can hear his dad's calming voice in his ears, telling his what to do. He'll find his way home one way or another.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "Im the anon who sent in the Keith dying request. It was everything I've ever wanted. Thank you! I also have one more request if it isn't too much to ask 

 “Hey kid. Hey kid, wake up.” Keith blurrily blinked upwards when a rough hand began to shake him. He wiped his face from where some drool had spilt against the window of the bus. The ten-year-old looked over his shoulder to see a stout woman, with a deep scowl and make-up indented in her wrinkles.

               “Huh?”

               “Let’s go. Last stop, you need to get off.” The woman huffed impatiently. Suddenly, Keith jumped up from his seat and scrambled to look out the window. He first noticed the sun up high before he noticed the unfamiliar apartment buildings and store fronts surrounding them. Instantly Keith knew that he was nowhere near home. He was probably far, far from it.

               “Ah – what –what stop is this? This isn’t home!” Keith swallowed thickly, clutching his backpack to his chest. He groaned internally at what his dad would think. His dad had been hesitant to let him ride the public bus, since the school bus didn’t go near his house. But the bus was faster and safer than letting Keith walk almost 2 miles to school, since Shiro had work earlier now. His dad almost refused to let Keith ride the bus, saying how it was too dangerous and there could be creeps, but neither of them ever thought about Keith getting lost on the bus.

               He was so grounded.

               “Ain’t my problem. This is my last stop for the day.” The woman shrugged as she attempted to grab a hold of Keith’s jacket in order to pick him up. For a second, Keith panicked and wormed his way out of her grip. _Never let a stranger grab you son. Take off your jacket or backpack and leave it if they grab it._ Keith remembered his dad’s words as clear as day in his mind.

               “Quit that, you brat.” The woman hissed but eventually let him go. Keith was quick to his feet, still clutching his backpack to his chest. Looking out the windows, Keith didn’t recognize anything.

               “I don’t know where I am. I – I don’t recognize anything.” Keith whispered pitifully and the woman shook her head.

               “Like I said, there’s nothing I can do. This is my last stop. Go find a payphone or something and call your mommy.” The woman rolled her eyes before heading to the front of her bus. She ignored the way that Keith glared holes in the back of her head, seemingly haven forgotten his fear for a second.

               “Don’t got a _mommy.”_ Keith hissed before stalking off the bus, ignoring the woman’s surprised look. The boy stormed away from the bus stop, hands clenched into fists and heart ready to burst out of his chest. Unsurprisingly, he heard the bus pull away from the side of the road and leave.

               Leaving Keith all alone.  

               Lost and confused.

               Feeling his breathing pick up, Keith nervously rubbed at the ends of his hair that poked out from under his beanie. The weather had cooled for the winter in the last few weeks and was already below freezing.  Keith was plenty warm with his heavy duty coat, his hat and his gloves plus his winter boots and extra scarf. _But would they keep him warm if he got stuck here at night?_ Keith frowned at the thought and swallowed. Carefully he shook his head and cleared his mind from any thoughts like that. Panicking would do nothing to help him.

               Keith winced at hearing all the unfamiliar noises. Noises like car horns and alarms; voices shouting and kids laughing. He rubbed his arms quietly before slipping his ear buds in his ears and putting on a familiar song on repeat in order to cancel out any other distracting noises.

               “Okay. Okay, calm down Keith. Think.” Keith took a deep breath and soon pulled out his cellphone. His father had gotten him a cheap one, meant only for emergencies or to reach one of them in order. It wasn’t anything fancy but it had helped Keith a couple times he needed to leave early. However, upon seeing the black screen and red bar on top, Keith couldn’t help but groan. Of course today would be the day that his phone would die. The one day he actually needed it.

               This day was only getting worse and worse.

               “Now what?” Keith nervously chewed on his lip and bit his lip nervously and shuffled behind the bus stop, when a group of people passed by him. They went on down the sidewalk without a second glance back to the little boy.

                _First, make sure you know where you are. Get street signs or a town name. Look at what’s around you._ Keith began to remember Shiro’s words that he had taught him many years ago, about what to do should he ever get lost from Keith. Never more did Keith feel grateful for Shiro to give him these lessons as such a young age.

               Scanning around, Keith noticed that the bus stop was on a corner street.

                _Alamode Street and 116 th Place._ Keith nodded and mentally stored the information away. _I was riding the 16L bus from Wishington that ends up on Alamode. I was supposed to get off at 67 th Avenue. That’s two stops from Wishington, and there’s eight total stops for the 16L. Which means I’m six stops away from home._Keith’s shoulders sagged at the thought. Six stops didn’t seem like a lot but it could be anywhere from six miles to sixteen miles and even he couldn’t walk that much.

                _Find what direction you are. Locate North._

               Swallowing, Keith looked up at the sun. It was after 3 in the afternoon, so the sun was starting to head west. Noticing which part of the sky the sun was moving in, Keith smiled softly. _Okay so if that’s west, then North is to the right._ Keith turned until he was facing directly in front of an old gas station. It was pretty full of cars coming in and out to fill up on gas and occasionally go into the station. _The 16L runs from East to West coming from Wishington. Meaning home must be East._

               Keith nodded quietly to himself when he figured out his directions.  The music drummed at a calming pace in his ears and Keith shuffled away from a loud group of men walking past the bus stop.

                _Find somewhere that would have a phone. Somewhere public, in case anyone ever tries to follow you._ Keith instantly knew that his father would be looking at the gas station if he was here right now and he couldn’t help but swallow. The station was fairly crowded and Keith didn’t know if he could handle that many people in such a small space.

               He was _pretty_ sure he couldn’t.

                _If any strangers try to follow you or grab you, call for help._ Keith’s eyes were nervously darting from every person that walked to close to him. His breath quickened unnaturally at the idea of someone trying to grab him. _You kick and scream and make as much noise as possible and you make sure that everyone knows you shouldn’t be going with this person. Then you call for help before you call me._ Keith jumped when a woman stopped at the bus stop to take a look at him.

               Shoving his head down and fiddling with his hair some more, Keith spun and made an attempt to walk to the gas station. His pace quickened and thankfully the woman did not follow after him, but it did nothing to ease Keith’s beating heart.

                _If you’re alone, ask to use a phone and call me. Immediately._ Shiro’s words rung in Keith’s ears as he stared at the gas station which was only a few feet away from him. However, he stopped upon seeing how _many_ people were coming in and out of the station. All adults and all strangers to Keith. There were too many people. He couldn’t do this. No way.

_I will come get you Keith. No matter where you are._

               Keith could feel tears building in his eyes and a sob building in his throat. All he wanted was his daddy right now and to be brave like his daddy always was. But he couldn’t even go inside a stupid gas station without panicking. He would never see his daddy again. He was going to be all alone and lost here forever and his daddy would be so mad and never ever forgive –

               “Honey, are you okay?” Keith practically jumped a foot in the air when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder and a voice behind him. Spinning around, with his heart in his throat, Keith came face to face with a young man (probably younger than even his daddy), wearing a purple vest over his shirt. His hair was shaved on both sides with _blue_ hair slicked back over the top of his head. Kind green eyes looked down at Keith and he smiled gently.

               “Are you alright?” The man asked again when Keith couldn’t even speak. Keith nervously clutched the backpack closer and felt tears leaking out of his eyes and down his face. “Where are your parents?”

               “N-Not supposed to talk to strangers.” Keith finally hiccupped and the man’s eyes softened.

               “Of course, honey. You’re a very smart boy.” The man smiled warmly, causing Keith’s trembling to stop momentarily. He was still quite panicked and very nervous but there was something soothing and calming about this man.

               “My name’s Glenn.” The man smiled. He was about to offer his hand to Keith, but upon noticing his nervous look, Glenn retracted his hand. “I work over at the Gas shop over here. Can you tell me your name?”

               Keith almost buried his face into his backpack, knowing that adults usually got frustrated with him when he refused to answer. However, the man simply smiled again and knelt beside Keith. He didn’t move to touch the boy or do anything more than kneel at his side.

               “That’s okay. My mama always taught me to not tell my name to strangers either.” The man merely winked with a grin when Keith refused to answer. Keith peeked out from behind his backpack with a sniffle, causing Glenn’s heart to skip a beat. “Can you at least tell me if your parents are here?”

               “Just daddy n’I.” Keith mumbled sadly into his backpack. “Miss him.”

               “I bet so. But you’re being very brave, all by yourself. I bet your daddy would be super proud of you.” The man laughed softly, causing Keith to look at his from under his long lashes. “What’s your daddy like? Can you tell me about him? “My mama is the nicest woman you’ll ever meet but she’s tiny, probably even tinier than you.” Glenn teased and counted it as a win when Keith pushed his backpack down so that Glenn could see his whole face.

               “Nu-uh.” Keith couldn’t help but pout. There was no way a lady older than Keith’s daddy was smaller than him, because Keith _was_ tiny. And Glenn was almost as tall as his daddy, so there was no way that Glenn’s mama could be little.

               “Cross my heart.” Glenn motioned an X symbol across the right side of his chest, causing Keith to giggle for a second.

               “That’s not where your heart is, dummy.” Keith deadpanned eventually and Glenn laughed out loud at the kid’s bluntness.

               “Of course, you’re right. Silly me.” Glenn shook his head when Keith snorted.

               “My daddy’s super strong. And brave and smart. He’s the bestest daddy in the world.” Keith finally said with a soft smile at thinking of his dad. For a while, his fear and sadness had washed away while talking to Glenn.

               “I bet so. He sounds like a wonderful man.” Glenn praised when Keith nodded in agreement. “I bet he probably has the biggest muscles on the planet in order to carry you.” Keith paused, mid pout as he seriously thought about the question.

               “No, not the biggest. That’d be weird. But they’re pretty big.” Keith nodded finally and Glenn grinned cheekily. “He was in the military so _all_ of his muscles are big.”

               “Wow a military man. You’ll have to make sure you give him a great big hug and thank him for his service for me, when he gets here alright?” Keith nodded completely serious when Glenn gave him this task and it made Glenn want to scoop the boy up and hold him until all his sorrows went away. Upon mentioning his father, Keith’s body slumped and his lower lip trembled.

               “Hey now, it’s alright. You’re okay. Do you wanna come inside the Gas station to use our phone and call your daddy? So he can come pick you up?” Glenn offered quickly before the tears could fall from Keith’s eyes. Keith suddenly eyed the gas station and nervously watched all of the people in there. His heart was hammering in his chest and he knew that he should go inside. His daddy would want him to.

               “Actually, you know what? It’s pretty crowded in there. Soooooo many people.” Glenn waved his hands in exasperation before leaning back on his heels. He dug around slowly in his pockets before pulling out a sleek cellphone. “Would you like to use mine? We don’t have to go inside.” Keith bit his lip before eyeing the phone. His daddy had always told him to never take things from a stranger, but usually that only applied to candy or snacks. Right? Not cellphones.

               Timidly Keith nodded and Glenn unlocked the phone. He opened the call app and held it out to Keith. Keith hesitated for a second, looking up into Glenn’s kind, warm eyes and without finding any malicious emotion in them he grabbed the phone. He made sure to avoid touching Glenn’s fingers but froze when his eyes caught sight of the picture in the background.

               “This your puppy?” Keith couldn’t help but ask and Glenn laughed as he sat back.

               “Yep. That’s my Jasmine. One of three actually. She has two brothers that look nothing like her, but she’s my spoiled princess.” Glenn replied with a shrug and Keith grinned.

               “I have a puppy too. Her name’s Red and she helps me, ‘cause she’s a service dog.” Keith explained as he typed in the number that he had memorized from the first day he learned it. Glenn nodded encouragingly at Keith and commented on Red.

               “Hello?”

               “Daddy!” Keith shouted excitedly when his daddy had answered on the first ring. He could hear a slight intake of breath and murmuring in the background.

               “Oh baby! Oh thank goodness.” Shiro whispered quietly, sounding immensely relieved on the phone and Keith felt guilty at making him worry. “Baby, where are you? You didn’t come to the bus stop and I got worried. I’ve been calling your cellphone.”

               “I’m sorry daddy!” Keith felt tears prick in his eyes. “I fell asleep and missed my stop, and the mean old bus lady made me get off at the last stop. And I didn’t know where I was. And I got scared because I was lost and there was so many people and my phone died. And I tried to get to you but I couldn’t so I tried to remember what you taught me and I found a gas station, but there was so many people daddy. I was scared but Glenn was nice and he let me use his phone. He has three puppies daddy. I’m really sorry”

               There was a choked laugh on the other side of the phone. “It’s okay baby, there’s nothing to be sorry about. It wasn’t your fault. Daddy was just scared.”

               “Me too daddy, I was really scared.” Keith swallowed thickly and Shiro sighed. “But Glenn made it better.”

               “That’s good baby. And you’re a brave boy by remembering everything I taught you and calling me right away.”

               Keith beamed, causing Glenn to chuckle. “Yes! I remembered everything. I’m at the last stop on the 16L bus line on the corner of Alamode and 116th Place. There’s a Gas station facing North where Glenn works and I’m there now. Well, I’m outside with Glenn. And I remembered your phone number too.”

               “Of course, you did so good baby.” Shiro laughed softly. Can you please put Glenn on the phone for daddy and stay put. Daddy’s driving to get you right now, okay?” Keith nodded even though Shiro couldn’t see him.

               “Okay daddy. I love you. I’ll see you soon.”

               “I love you too, Keith. To the moon and stars.” Shiro whispered softly, bringing a big smile to Keith’s face before he handed the phone over to Glenn without another word. Glenn stared at the phone, unsure of what to do before blinking.

               “Oh. Um, h-hi there?” Glenn chuckled nervously.

               “Hi. Thank you for keeping my son safe.” The voice on the phone was warm and Glenn had no doubt that this man loved his son very much, and he smiled softly.

               “It’s no problem. Your son is a special little boy.”

               “Yeah. He is.”


End file.
